Dejected Rana Fawad, during a media talk, expressed regret over the dismal performance of his team; he regretted over the consecutive losses but vowed to come up with a better strategy next time around.

‘I’m tired of losing again and again and apologize to Lahorites for the loss. With two captains and 5 unfit players, how could’ve we won,’ he added.

‘Next time we will come with new players and a new strategy,’ he vowed.

"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

The great Ian Fleming did not even bother to mention what four times is because by that point only a fool would need further commentary

In the context of Pakistan Super League, one theme that has recurred time and time again without fail is Lahore Qalandars finishing last. So where on previous occasions experts and analysts and pundits have tried pinning Lahore's awful awfulness on bad luck, poor combinations, form issues and other such drivel, truth is that they have just not been good enough.

It's not even about their current roster or any past roster. The problem lies with the way they compose their playing squad, which means that there is every chance their future lots could also possibly be just as rubbish, if not more.

A quick glance at all the Qalandars' past and present squads shows that they tend to blow their top pick and a bulk of their cap space on foreign superstars who are either way past their primes or whose weary legs just have too much mileage to last an entire tournament.

Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum were their prototypical foreign saviours who couldn't perform, whereas AB de Villiers could perform but was too fragile — at least that's what we're told.

Last off season, they used their other pick to draft Mohammad Hafeez, which at that time looked a reasonable choice before his thumb injury proved us wrong. As they say winners make their own luck — so perhaps losers ruin their own?

What's quite clearly missing from the equation are national stars that are in the primes of their respective careers, with the exception of perhaps Fakhar Zaman.

Trade opportunities are supposed to remedy draft shortcomings but the Qalandars came up short even there. They traded away Umar Akmal and Sunil Narine for Rahat Ali and Hassan Khan.

Granted that Akmal was in a rut and needed to be dealt, but him and Narine were clearly more valuable assets than the duo they got in return. Not to mention that neither of their acquisitions addressed their batting woes, which have been their main problem since times immemorial.

Clearly whoever is calling the shots at the Qalandars has to shoulder the blame, and by the looks of it, the mastermind of this mess is Aqib Javed. Shouldn't the buck stop with him?

In all commercial leagues the first casualty of failure is the coach. The Qalandars have opted for the less-taken alternative route, overhauling nearly their entire squad (only four players that featured in their last PSL 2018 outing played their first PSL 2019 match).

Ditching one set of players for another equally flawed loss hasn't worked. How long before the franchise ownership realises that the fault line lies elsewhere? Wouldn't it be an easier and effective fix to remedy the mechanism that keeps making mistakes than just fixing mistakes?

Judging from his on-screen persona, Fawad Rana looks like the nicest of owners in all of PSL. But there comes a time where every owner has no choice but to wield the axe to stop the rot. That time is now.

In the end, a moment of silence for all those who thought Lahore Qalandars would go all the way.

Fast-rising wrist-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane of Nepal has described his week-long stay in Pakistan for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019 as a “life-time experience” and wishes to come on a regular basis to a country where he thinks “people are made about the game.”

The 18-year-old featured for a luckless Lahore Qalandars and finished with 11 wickets in seven games, but apart from his on-field success Lamichhane described his visit as “memorable”.

“It was lovely to be here (in Karachi). I enjoyed my visit and would wait for another trip, whether for the PSL or with the Nepal team. It was a lifetime experience,” said Lamichhane before returning home.

“I can’t wait to come back to Pakistan with the Nepal cricket team as I am sure more cricket will come to Pakistan. The fans were very passionate and deserved more cricket,” said Lamichhane, praising the arrangements.

“We all felt at home and there were no problems at all. It’s a really great news for Pakistan that we have played PSL matches here in Karachi.”

Fresh from his exploits in the Big Bash for runners-up Melbourne Stars in February, Lamichhane took three for 46 to lead Qalandars to a six-wicket win over Multan Sultans in Dubai, before his best Twenty20 figures to date of four for 10 in four overs helped Lahore trounce Quetta Gladiators by eight wickets in Sharjah.

Lamichhane admitted it was more challenging to bowl spin against the sub-continent batsmen.

“It’s always challenging to play T20 cricket and more than that batsmen in the sub-continent play the spin well, so it was a double challenge. I have to learn a lot of things to come good,” said Lamichhane, who also played in the Indian Premier League.

“The backing was great. All Lahore officials were helpful and cordial, but sadly the results were not good. I am hopeful we will achieve better results in the coming years,” said Lamichhane.

Recalling his first entry into big time cricket, Lamichhane said it was former Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayake who spotted him in the nets.

“Actually I was training. I came to know that Pubbudu was coming to our academy. We had a meeting with him. So, he wanted to see some of us and I bowled at the nets and he was impressed.”

Lamichhane hoped to make further strides with the Nepal cricket team.

“I am sure Nepal is on their way to bigger cricket and I want to play my part in that. I am doing the hard work and hope rewards will come with hard work,” said Lamichhane, who will play for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2019.

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Pakistan Cricket Fan Community. Those 4 words are the basis of this website. Traditionally the Pakistan cricket team have played an exciting brand of cricket which attracts fans from India to England and everywhere in between.